In SQL, most RDBMSs allow you to rename a table using the ALTER TABLE statement, which is the statement used to modify the definition of an existing table.

Some RDBMs also include a RENAME statement for renaming tables.

But if you use SQL Server, you’ll need to use the sp_rename stored procedure.

PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, Oracle

The ALTER TABLE statement is the most widely supported method for renaming a table across the major RDBMSs. When using this statement, use the RENAME clause to rename the table.

Example:

ALTER TABLE t1 RENAME TO t2;

This renames a table from t1 to t2.

This should work in most RDBMs, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, and Oracle.

This method does not work in SQL Server though.

SQL Server

In SQL Server, you’ll need to use the sp_rename stored procedure.

Example:

EXEC sp_rename 't1', 't2';

You can also qualify the first table with the schema name, in which case, it might look something like this:

EXEC sp_rename 'dbo.t1', 't2';

In this example, dbo is the schema name, but you will need to use whatever schema is applicable.

MySQL & MariaDB

In addition to the ALTER TABLE method, MySQL and MariaDB also have a RENAME TABLE statement.

Example:

RENAME TABLE
    t1 TO t2,
    t3 TO t4,
    t5 TO t6;

Oracle

In addition to the ALTER TABLE statement, Oracle has a RENAME statement.

Example:

RENAME t1 TO t2;

Note that you cannot rename a sharded table or a duplicated table.